Making new tires for older cars is harder than you might think. For optimal performance, you want to use the tread patterns and construction methods the car was originally designed around, and for looks, you want the appearance to be as close to stock as possible. But, modern compounds bring huge improvements in safety, handling, and ride quality. The ideal is to combine old-school looks and construction with modern rubber. Pirelli announced Wednesday that it’s making such a tire for the Ferrari Enzo.
While it’s hard to conceptualize the Enzo as an “old car,” the V-12 supercar was launched over 20 years ago. The new Pirelli P Zero Corsa System tires for the Enzo come in OEM sizing—245/35ZR19 front, 345/35ZR19 rear—and look exactly the same as the tires on the original car. But this is effectively a new tire, developed in collaboration by Pirelli and Ferrari.
Developing and manufacturing a new tire is a huge undertaking, especially when it’s only going to be produced in tiny quantities. Ferrari only made 399 examples of the Enzo, so the market for these tires is miniscule.
Pirelli makes a number of new tires for old cars as part of its Collezione program. You can get new 185-width CN36s for your early 911, or crazy-wide Cinturato P7s for your Countach Quattrovalvole. (Michelin also has a similar program.) Pirelli already made new, old-look tires for the F40 and F50, and as part of this new collaboration, the Ferrari gave its official blessing to these. The two companies also announced a coming tire for the 288 GTO, a Cinturato P7 in the unusual sizing of 225/50R16 front, 265/50R16 rear.
Neither Pirelli nor Ferrari have announced pricing or an availability date for the Enzo tires. We imagine they’ll be expensive, hundreds of dollars a pop, but if you can afford an Enzo, that shouldn’t be an issue.